2ndReport-82ndLegislativeSession

Bills That Are Moving

HB 4175/SB 318 – among its many provisions are the following; requires that a parent of a child who is to be home schooled notify the county superintendent only one time; removes the requirement that the person providing the home schooling instruction have a high school diploma or have an outline of a plan for the home schooling instruction for the ensuing year; permits a parent to administer the required nationally normed standardized test; requires a certified teacher to review a student’s progress and submit a written narrative; to Senate Education; passed House 2/2; to Senate Education.

SB 146 - removes the five day requirement for early childhood education and mandates an equal number of instructional minutes allowing counties to set aside the fifth day each week for employee training and collaboration; passed Senate 1/29; to House Education.

WVPE is tracking the following bills which were introduced since the last report

Proposed Bills Affecting Students

SB 378 - clarifies what constitutes an excused absence, and ensures that the various excused absences are described with sufficient specificity to enable enforcement of compulsory school attendance by the courts; to Senate Judiciary.Proposed Bills Affecting Teachers /Administration/Students

SB 353/HB 4304 - adjusts the allocation of contributions for health insurance premiums from 80% by employers and 20% by employees to 75% by employers and 25% by employees, beginning July 1, 2017; to Senate Finance; to House Banking and Insurance then Finance.

SB 406 - changes the age date of attending school and early childhood education programs from September I to July 1; to Senate Education.

HB 4291 - increases penalties for teachers who sexually abuse children with whom they hold positions of trust; provides that teachers convicted of this crime are banned from being employed in any capacity in any educational, training, vocational, day care, group home, foster care program or rehabilitation facility in the state; to House Education then Judiciary.

Proposed Bills Affecting Administration

HB 4269 – [requested by the Governor] relates to the school aid formula; eliminates the Growth County School Facilities Act and Growth County School Facilities Act Fund; adjusts the formulas for the foundation allowance for professional education and for service personnel; adjusts and eliminates certain adjustments to the foundation allowance for transportation cost and the allowance to improve instructional programs; eliminates restrictions in the computation of local share; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4295 – [requested by the Governor] creates Innovation in Education designated schools, which demonstrate innovation in STEM, community school partnership, entrepreneurship or career pathways; provides for components and requirements of an Innovation in Education plan; the State Board is authorized to terminate Innovation in Education school designations; terminates funding for Innovation Zones and Local Solution Dropout Prevention and Recovery Innovation Zones after June 30, 2016; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4301 - initiates a comprehensive transformation in school leadership through a process that includes broad stakeholder [teacher] input under the State Board of Education to assist it in developing recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4018 - establishes incentives for public schools to make their recreational facilities available for public use outside of school hours; to House Education then Finance.Proposed Bills Affecting the School Calendar

SB 313 - changes the mandatory school instructional days from one hundred eighty days to minutes over a period of one hundred eighty days based upon the minimum amount of hours of instruction offered to students provided by state board rules; to Senate Education then Finance.

HB 4167 - permits county boards of education to accumulate instructional days and use them when needed in a later instructional term when inclement weather and emergencies prevent the otherwise full instructional term from being completed; to House Education.

HB 4171 - provides that school instructional terms for students begin no earlier than the day after Labor Day and end no later than the second Friday in June; in the event instructional days need to be canceled the county boards of education must provide for ten technology days whereby assigned classwork may be completed; it also provides for homework packets be provided to students who do not have the necessary computer access at home; to House Education.

HB 4028 - provides that school instructional terms for students may begin no earlier than September 1 and must terminate on or before June 5; decreases the number of instructional days for students by five days; requires five days for professional development or continuing education; permits county boards of education to contract with school personnel for employment terms in excess of two hundred days per year; to House Education.

Proposed Bills Affecting Testing

HB 4024 - prohibits the use of the Smarter Balanced Assessment and requires that schools assess student progress by alternate methods; to House Education.

SB 380 - requires ACT and ACT Aspire to be used as the comprehensive statewide student assessment; to Senate Education then Finance.

HB 4281 - provides that the statewide public education summative assessment only be administered in grades 3 through 8 and once at the high school level; to House Education.

Proposed Bills Affecting Teachers

HB 4027 – increases pay to teachers and service personnel by two percent the first year, two percent the second and three percent in the third year; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4039 - raises minimum teacher salaries $1500 per year through fiscal year 2020; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4316 - relates to reimbursement of certification fee for NBPTS (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards) certification; requires the submission of satisfactory evidence to the West Virginia Department of Education for reimbursement in place of the present requirements; to House Education then Finance.

HB 4303 – provides an additional $500 paid annually to certified full time special education teachers for each area of special education he or she is certified, up to a maximum of three areas or $1,500; to House Education then Finance.Proposed Bills Affecting CurriculumHB 4194 - requires each public high school to offer a course in computer science; to House Education then Finance.

Proposed Bills Affecting RESAs

SB 373 - grants full control of the board of Education Regional Education Service Agencies to the state superintendent including the selection of executive directors and support staff as well as the organization and operations of the Regional Education Service Agencies; to Senate Education.

Miscellaneous Bills

SB 367 - prohibits any sex offender from living within one thousand feet of a school; to Senate Judiciary.

HB 4260 (similar to SB 249) - provides private educational facilities the authority to determine whether, and under what circumstances, to permit deadly weapons on school premises through written policies; to House Education then Judiciary; to Senate Judiciary.

For further information call 1-877-565-3447or to read the contents of a bill log one at www.legis.state.wv.us , click on “bill status”and provide the bill number or contact:

Ernest and Alma Page

10587 Charleston Road

Red House, WV 25168

(304)586-3451

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Or

Elizabeth Mow

One Bell Tower Drive

Watervliet, NY 12189

(518)713-4992

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